Camden Allen White Remembered as Brandon High Construction Continues

With a break in the rains from Tropical Storm Debby, activity was busy at Brandon High School this morning, June 26, where turn lanes off Victoria Street and a larger parking and drop-off area in front of the school are being constructed.

"They started several months ago, which seriously caused congestion headaches, with school still in session," said Karen Rodriguez, whose daugher attends the school and who serves as president of the Brandon High School Alumni Association. "And I hated to see the trees go."

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Still, the need for better "traffic order" is great, Rodriguez said. "Every morning I'd see at least one vehicle running through the crosswalk. They're oblivious to the need to stop for students."

Rodriguez said she hopes the two lanes will make it easier for students who walk to school to navigate the traffic, and not harder.

Also, that the roadside memorial for Camden Allen White, who was struck and killed Dec. 4, 2006, as he walked in a crosswalk on Victoria Street at Meade Street in front of Brandon High School.

White, 15, was on his way to school and struck by a car driven by a Kami Bell, a 22-year-old substitute teacher, who was charged with a civil infraction, according to a Tampa Bay Times report

Today, the roadside memorial for White stands under the yellow crosswalk sign looking south toward Brandon High.

"I'm hoping that after the construction they'll have another, more visible, roadside memorial," Rodriguez said. "When you see that memorial, how can you not slow down?"